In a field dominated by Google, some smaller search Web sites are hoping to lure people by offering them money or charitable donations to search. Start-up Zotspot is set to officially launch on Tuesday a site that pays people to search, and pays them even more based on how many other people they refer to the site.

According to the source, payment for referrals can be paid via Paypal or check, Zotspot members can instead opt to donate their earnings to a charity or university.

"To give you a sense of the earning potential, we estimate that each referral who uses Zotspot as their primary search engine will generate between 10 cents and 50 cents for you per year. (We can't guarantee those estimates, but we hope to continue to increase member earnings and even pass those numbers in the future!)" the Web site says. "If you refer 10 people, they each refer 10 people and so on, you could earn over $250 per year." (CNET, 2006)

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